Washing machine

ABSTRACT

Provided is a washing machine having an enhanced drying performance. The washing machine includes: a housing; a tub installed inside the housing, for storing washing water; a drum rotatably installed inside the tub and configured to wash laundry; a drying duct connected to the tub, for generating hot air and feeding the generated hot air to an inside of the drum; a condensation duct connected to the tub and the drying duct, for removing moisture from an air discharged from the tub to guide the moisture-removed air to the drying duct and allowing the hot air to cross the inside of the drum together with the drying duct; and a radiation mechanism disposed at the drying duct, for radiating heat of the drying duct.

This application claims the benefit of the Korean Application No. P2004-26914 filed on Apr. 20, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a combined drying and washing machine, and more particularly, to a radiation structure of a washing machine.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Generally, a washing machine is an apparatus to get laundry such as clothes clean by rotating a drum receiving therein detergent, washing water and laundry using a driving force of a motor. In such a washing machine, laundry is less worn and tangle-free. In recent years, a washing machine having drying function has been developed.

The washing machine includes a tub installed inside a housing, and a drum installed rotatably inside the tub. To dry laundry, the washing machine further includes a drying duct and a condensation duct. The drying duct is connected to the tub and receives therein a heater and a blower fan. Also, the condensation duct feeds hot air to the drum disposed inside the tub via the tub. The fed hot air dries the laundry and is exhausted to the condensation duct via the drum and the tub. The condensation duct removes moisture from the exhausted air and returns the moisture-removed air to the drying duct such that the moisture-removed air is again heated. The air inside the washing machine dries the laundry while it circulates via the tub, the drum, the condensation duct and the drying duct.

However, in the related art washing machine, the drying duct is connected to a gasket provided at the tub and an entrance of the housing and hot air fed through such a contact portion is discharged through a side portion of the tub. To this end, the related art washing machine having a typical drying function has the following drawbacks.

First, hot air is discharged from the drum through a side portion of the tub without deeply permeating an inside of the drum. To this end, the laundry received in a deep inside of the drum is not properly dried.

Secondly, the drying duct is stationary but the gasket is shaken together with the tub. To this end, the gasket may be worn or torn.

Thirdly, the hot air discharged from the drying duct collides with a door around the gasket to cause a serious flow resistance of air, which is one of reasons that the hot air does not reach the deep inside of the drum.

Fourthly, the drying duct may be overheated or deformed due to hot air flowing therethrough. Also, an adjacent part, in particular, the tub may be deformed due to the heated drying duct.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a washing machine that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine having an enhanced drying efficiency and performance.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a washing machine including: a housing; a tub installed inside the housing, for storing washing water; a drum rotatably installed inside the tub and configured to wash laundry; a drying duct connected to the tub, for generating hot air and feeding the generated hot air to an inside of the drum; a condensation duct connected to the tub and the drying duct, for removing moisture from an air discharged from the tub to guide the moisture-removed air to the drying duct and allowing the hot air to cross the inside of the drum together with the drying duct; and a radiation mechanism disposed at the drying duct, for radiating heat of the drying duct.

The drying duct and the condensation duct are configured to allow the hot air to fully and completely cross the inside of the drum in an axial direction thereof and are accurately configured to flow the hot air from a front side of the drum to a rear side of the drum.

The drying duct and the condensation duct are configured to flow the hot air in a diagonal direction inside the drum. Substantially, the drying duct and the condensation duct are configured to flow the hot air from a front upper side of the drum to a rear lower side of the drum.

The drying duct is preferably connected to a front upper portion of the tub. Also, the tub comprises an inlet formed at a front upper portion thereof and communicating with the drying duct, and the drum comprises an inlet formed at a front upper portion thereof and communicating with the drying duct.

The drying duct closely contacts an outer circumference of the tub and comprises an upper cover and a lower cover coupled to each other. The upper cover of the drying duct is made of steel and the lower cover of the drying duct is made of aluminum alloy.

The condensation duct is connected to a rear portion of the tub and is accurately connected to a rear lower portion of the tub.

The radiation mechanism is provided at an upper portion of the drying duct. The radiation mechanism comprises at least one radiation fin provided in the drying duct or at least one radiation groove formed at the drying duct. Also, the radiation mechanism comprises at least one radiation fin and at least one radiation groove provided in the drying duct. In this case, the radiation mechanism comprises a plurality of radiation fins and a plurality of radiation grooves, and the radiation fins and the radiation grooves are alternatively arranged.

According to the present invention, the drying performance and efficiency are greatly enhanced.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a washing machine according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an upper cover having a radiation mechanism according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an upper cover having a modified radiation mechanism according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective of an upper cover having another modified radiation mechanism according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a washing machine according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the washing machine macroscopically includes a housing 10, a tub 30, a drum 40, a drying duct 100, a radiation mechanism 200, and a condensation duct 300.

The housing 10 has a laundry inlet formed at a front portion thereof. A door 20 is openably and closably installed at the laundry inlet of the housing 10. The door 20 is provided with a door glass 21 protruded toward an opening of the tub 30. A gasket 80 is disposed between the laundry inlet and the opening of the tub 30. The tub 30 is installed to store washing water inside the housing 10, and the drum 40 is rotatably installed inside the tub 30. To save the material cost and reduce the weight, the tub 30 may be formed of plastic material. The drum 40 has a plurality of holes 40 a through which washing water received in the tub 30 is introduced. Also, a power unit connected with the drum 40 is disposed around the tub 30, and the drum 40 is driven by the power unit.

Meanwhile, a drying duct 100 is installed inside the housing 10 and is connected with the tub 30. The drying duct 100 is provided therein with a blower fan 62 and a heater 61 to thereby feed hot air to the drum 40 through the tub 30. The condensation duct 300 is connected with the drying duct 100 and the tub 30, respectively. The condensation duct 300 is provided with a water feeder 310 for feeding cooling water so as to condense moisture contained in the air and remove the moisture. Accordingly, the hot air is discharged to the condensation duct 300 from the drum 40 through the tub 30, is converted into dry air, and is then guided to the drying duct 100 for reheating.

In more detail, the drying duct 100 is connected to a front upper portion of the tub 30. The tub 30 has an inlet 31 communicating with the drying duct 100 and the drum 40 has an inlet 41 communicating with the drying duct 100 through the inlet 31 of the tub 30. Also, the condensation duct 300 is connected to a rear lower portion of the tub 30, and a discharge hole 32 is also formed at a rear lower portion of the tub 30 so as to communicate with the condensation duct 300. Due to the positions of the connection portions between the drying duct 100 and the tub 30 and between the condensation duct 300 and the tub 30, the hot air flows from the inside of the drum 40 to the front of the drum 40 and the back of the drum 40 as indicated by arrow. In accuracy, the hot air flows from the front upper portion of the drum 40 to the rear lower portion of the drum 40. In other words, the hot air flows in a diagonal direction of an inside of the drum 40. Resultantly, the drying duct 100 and the condensation duct 300 are configured to allow the hot air to fully and completely cross the inner space of the drum 40 in the axial direction of the drum 40 due to their proper installation positions. Accordingly, the hot air is uniformly distributed into the whole inner space of the drum 40, so that drying efficiency and performance are greatly enhanced.

Also, the drying duct 100 includes an upper cover 110 and a lower cover coupled with each other. In addition, the drying duct 100 closely contacts the outer circumferential surface of the tub 30 so as to reduce an overall height of the washing machine. In accuracy, the lower cover 120 of the drying duct 100 closely contacts the upper outer circumferential surface of the tub 30 as shown in FIG. 1. The upper cover 110 of the drying duct 100 is made of steel. Meanwhile, in order to prevent the tub 30 made of plastic material from being deformed due to the heat transferred from the lower cover 120, the lower cover 120 is preferably made of aluminum alloy having better heat conductivity, corrosion-resistant property and heat-resistant property. Thus, the lower cover 120 is manufactured by a die-casting. Accordingly, by manufacturing only the lower cover 120 of aluminum alloy, the tub 30 can be prevented from being deformed and at the same time the manufacturing costs of the drying duct 100 can be saved.

The radiation mechanism 200 is disposed at the upper side of the drying duct 100 to radiate the heat of the drying duct 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the radiation mechanism 200 includes at least one radiation fin, preferably, a plurality of radiation fins 210. The radiation fins 210 are arranged at a predetermined interval to be normal to a length direction of the drying duct 100. Of course, the radiation fins 210 may be arranged in the length direction of the drying duct 100. These fins 210 as applied in a combined drum type drying and washing machine increases a radiation area for radiating heat of the drying duct 100 in the course of drying cycle. In more detail, when the drying duct 100 is heated by a drying operation, some of heat is transferred to the lower cover 120 and is radiated and the others of the heat are transferred to the upper cover 110 and are radiated from the upper cover 110. At this time, the upper cover 110 having the increased radiation area due to the radiation fins 210 can radiate a large amount of heat. As a consequence, a very small amount of heat is transferred to the lower cover 120 and the tub, thereby preventing the tub 30 from being deformed. Alternatively, the radiation fin 210 may be attached on the upper cover 110 as an independent member or be formed integrally with the upper cover 110.

Referring to FIG. 3, the radiation mechanism 200 includes at least one, preferably, a plurality of radiation grooves 220 formed at the upper cover 110. The radiation grooves 220 increase the radiation area of the upper cover 110 like the radiation fins 210. Due to the increase of the radiation area, the radiation efficiency in the drying cycle of the combined drum type drying and washing machine is enhanced. Accordingly, a very small amount of heat is transferred to the tub 30, thereby preventing the tub 30 from being deformed.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the radiation mechanism 200 may include at least one radiation fin 210 and at least one radiation groove 220, preferably, a plurality of radiation fins 210 and a plurality of radiation grooves 220. In the latter case, the radiation fins 210 are first formed at a predetermined interval and the radiation grooves 220 are formed between the radiation fins 210. In other words, the radiation fins 210 and the radiation grooves 220 are alternatively arranged, which is very advantageous for the radiation. Thus, the combination of the radiation fins 210 and the radiation grooves 220 increases the radiation area, so that more efficient radiation is performed.

As described above, the washing machine according to the present invention has the following advantages.

First, since the air fed to an inside of the drum permeates to a deep place of the drum to uniformly dry all laundries, drying efficiency and performance are enhanced.

Secondly, since the drying duct is connected to the tub unlike in the typical washing machine, wearing and tearing of the gasket are solved.

Thirdly, the radiation mechanism provided in the upper cover of the drying duct effectively discharges a large amount of heat from the drying duct. To this end, a very small amount of heat is transferred to the tub, thereby preventing the tub from being deformed.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. 

1. A washing machine comprising: a housing; a tub installed inside the housing, for storing washing water; a drum rotatably installed inside the tub and configured to wash laundry; a drying duct connected to the tub, for generating hot air and feeding the generated hot air to an inside of the drum; a condensation duct connected to the tub and the drying duct, for removing moisture from an air discharged from the tub to guide the moisture-removed air to the drying duct and allowing the hot air to cross the inside of the drum together with the drying duct; and a radiation mechanism disposed at the drying duct, for radiating heat of the drying duct.
 2. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the drying duct and the condensation duct are configured to allow the hot air to fully and completely cross the inside of the drum in an axial direction thereof.
 3. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the drying duct and the condensation duct are configured to flow the hot air from a front side of the drum to a rear side of the drum.
 4. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the drying duct and the condensation duct are configured to flow the hot air in a diagonal direction inside the drum.
 5. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the drying duct and the condensation duct are configured to flow the hot air from a front upper side of the drum to a rear lower side of the drum.
 6. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the drying duct is connected to a front upper portion of the tub.
 7. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the tub comprises an inlet formed at a front upper portion thereof and communicating with the drying duct.
 8. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the drum comprises an inlet formed at a front upper portion thereof and communicating with the drying duct.
 9. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the drying duct comprises a heater and a blower fan at an inside thereof.
 10. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the drying duct closely contacts an outer circumference of the tub.
 11. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the drying duct comprises an upper cover and a lower cover coupled to each other.
 12. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the upper cover of the drying duct is made of steel.
 13. The washing machine of claim 11, wherein the lower cover of the drying duct is made of aluminum alloy.
 14. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the condensation duct is connected to a rear portion of the tub.
 15. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the condensation duct is connected to a rear lower portion of the tub.
 16. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the radiation mechanism is provided at an upper portion of the drying duct.
 17. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the radiation mechanism comprises at least one radiation fin provided in the drying duct.
 18. The washing machine of claim 1 wherein the radiation mechanism comprises at least one radiation groove formed at the drying duct.
 19. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the radiation mechanism comprises at least one radiation fin and at least one radiation groove provided in the drying duct.
 20. The washing machine of claim 19, wherein the radiation mechanism comprises a plurality of radiation fins and a plurality of radiation grooves, and the radiation fins and the radiation grooves are alternatively arranged. 